Howard County police say at least three people were killed, including the presumed shooter in a shooting at a mall in Columbia, Maryland on Saturday morning. Shoppers and employees describe a scene of panic.

ByEric Tucker, Associated PressJanuary 25, 2014

Emergency personnel escort people out from a mall in Columbia, Maryland, January 25. Three people died in a shooting at a large shopping center outside of Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday, and police said they were allowing shoppers to leave the mall after determining there was no longer a threat.

Columbia, Md. — Someone armed with a gun opened fire at a busy shopping mall in suburban Baltimore on Saturday. Three people died, including the person believed to be the shooter, police said.

The shooting took place at the Mall in Columbia, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington, according to Howard County police.

Someone called the police emergency dispatcher at around 11:15 a.m. to report a shooting at the mall. Police responded to the scene and found three people dead, including one person who was found near a gun and ammunition. No details were released about their identities.

The mall is at the center of the town and typically opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays. It was filled with shoppers and employees when shots rang out before noon.

Joan Harding of Elkridge, Maryland, was shopping with her husband, David, for a tiara for their granddaughter's 18th birthday. She said she heard something heavy falling, followed by gunshots and people running.

"My husband said, 'Get down!' and the girl that worked in the store said, 'Get in the back,' " Harding said. That is where they hid until police gave the all-clear.

At a news conference, Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon said police are relatively confident that there was only one shooter.

"We don't know a motive yet," McMahon said. "We are very confident that it was a single shooter, and there was not another shooter in the mall."

The mall was closed to the public as police went store to store looking for people who might still be hiding, McMahon said. He said the shooting occurred at a store on the upper floor.

He said it wasn't clear whether the shooting was random or whether the shooter and victims knew each other.

Witnesses described moments of panic as they heard a succession of gunshots and screaming as people ran for cover into nearby stores and hid behind locked doors.

Tonya Broughton of Silver Spring, Maryland, was with a friend getting facials for a 'girls morning out,' she said. "The only thing I heard was all the people running and screaming and saying 'There's a shooter! There's a shooter!' " she said.

Wearing a gel face mask, she and her friend hunkered down in a Victoria's Secret lingerie store.

People were directed out of the mall and into a parking lot, where some boarded a bus and others walked toward their cars. Some people were seen crying. McMahon said detectives were interviewing witnesses as they emerged from the mall to try to get a better picture of the events that had unfolded.

Laura McKinzles of Columbia works at a kiosk in the mall. She said she heard between eight and 10 gunshots, followed by people running and screaming. She ran into the backroom of a perfume store and locked the door.

Allison Cohen, who works at the apparel store Lucky Brand Jeans, said she always felt safe at the mall.